Blind Date (2)

As the content rolled on, Jjangjjangwang felt a fierce, almost physical conviction settle in his chest.

Today's stream was going to explode.

Of course, he had launched the whole thing on a flash of inspiration and zero prep, so the seams showed. Hunting down a decent map ate up time. He kept hitching, not quite sure how to steer the next beat. That was par for the course. But YouTube wasn't live — anything clumsy could be cut in the edit and no one would ever know.

And even with those problems, the live chat itself was already historic. The second map in particular — the VR Chat Night Bridge Map — delivered a sweetness and a shy, budding-romance feeling his usual broadcasts never even brushed. Calling it a hundred and twenty percent would not have been an exaggeration. Men and women talking with real, mutual interest lit a fire in thousands of viewers, for better and for worse.

The audience had locked onto two things.

First was the chemistry between Hand and Reumwing. The two of them had clashed more than anyone in the earlier game, and they still sniped at each other the moment they got an opening — but as the minutes passed, some unnameable current had started running under the bickering. That shoujo-manga cliché was driving chat completely insane.

Second was Hana-chan's choice. The most popular person in the lobby, no contest, was Hana-chan: a cute, pretty temperament, a pretty voice, a gentle manner, and the extra spark of being a Japanese girl. Every man in the blind date had shown her some degree of interest. Even Hand, who was tangled up with Reumwing, was no exception.

Roughly an hour had gone by since the content began.

"All right. Time to start wrapping this up."

As far as he was concerned, the most important thing in this whole bit was the feeling — that fizzy, tender, secondhand-embarrassment rush unique to a first spark. The viewers felt it. He felt it. The participants felt it. That feeling could not be allowed to die. And if a blind date dragged on too long, the odds of it dying went way up.

Nobody needed to know all four of the opposite sex perfectly. They shouldn't, even. One person you'd been drawn to from the start. Sixty minutes was plenty of time to sink into that one person. They ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to choose now, while the feeling was still alive.

If a couple formed, great. If not, that was fine too. The ache of not matching would linger as regret, and regret could turn into hunger for the next blind date — one he'd actually plan properly.

"Everyone! We're moving to the last map ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now!"

The participants reacted in every shade of reluctance. Most of them just sounded sorry it was ending. People who had treated this as nothing but content at the start had, somewhere along the way, started showing their real hands.

He had no idea how tonight's blind date would finish. Following Jjangjjangwang's lead, all of them moved to the final map.

I'm so tired...

The blind date had only been going for an hour, and my body was already wrecked. Maybe it was because I'd been so exposed to every feeling people were throwing off. I'd never been in a situation like this before — not even close.

The men had come at me openly, making their interest obvious. Honestly, it just felt like pressure. Worse, it came with guilt. There was no way they'd act the same if they ever found out what I really was. Even someone without a shred of prejudice — could they actually fall for a woman who used to be a man? I couldn't imagine it. I couldn't even sell it to myself.

So I sank into a serious debate with myself. Wouldn't it be better to just forfeit this whole blind date? A Sub Quest had popped up, sure — but even so, was this really the right call?

Ping!

A KakaoTalk message landed while the map was still loading.

I checked the sender. My manager.

Yeah. That tracked. From the midpoint on I'd been so locked into the actual dating that I'd barely glanced at the stream chat, but I'd had a feeling it was like that.

I hesitated, then asked my manager anyway.

We'd been going back and forth so busily that I didn't notice the loading finish. I was already standing in the map. Time to focus on the stream again.

I checked the last message that had come in.

Whoever I felt most comfortable with, huh...

"On this last map, we're deciding today's couples! Everyone, come in close!"

I finished a long, messy argument with myself and walked toward Jjangjjangwang.

Jjangjjangwang turned over how to actually seal the couples.

The first method that rose to mind — and the one he liked best — was the Love Sticks. You could read the participants' interest in real time, and nothing else packed that much tension and entertainment into a single gesture. The problem was that no map had the Love Sticks built in. He'd have to prep that for next time. For now, he needed something else.

Just have them point? After everything they'd built up, that would feel hollow. Have them send it in a note and announce the results all at once? Then you were only delivering an outcome, and the suspense would bleed out.

After chewing on it, he landed on the Ferris wheel at the Amusement Park.

The men would name the woman they were interested in, then board a car. After that, the women would follow them up — but only if the man who'd picked them was the one they'd had in mind. If not...

There would be no second chances. Tonight, the matches that failed to form would leave the deeper mark anyway.

"That's how you'll choose. Got it?"

At Jjangjjangwang's explanation, every participant nodded with the grim resolve of people walking to a verdict. Chat split down the middle. Plenty of people thought it wasn't bad. Just as many were worried. There was even a thread of concern that the format was way too favorable for the women.

From where Jjangjjangwang was sitting, it was the opposite. The men at least got a shot. A woman who didn't get picked never even got a turn — the content was over for her on the spot.

Which was exactly the situation unfolding now.

"I would like to ride the Ferris wheel together with Hana-chan."

I-Fan.

"Hana-chan. I shall be waiting."

Gujiong.

"I-I'd like to go with Hana-chan too..."

Even Reblo.

Three of the four men had named the same woman. Which meant that for the other women, there wasn't even a choice to make. Their night was already over.

"...Reumwing. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'll wait."

All of them, that is, except Reumwing — the one Hand had named.

The men's turn ended, and the women's turn to choose drew in. If the man who'd picked you wasn't the one you wanted, you simply wouldn't board.

The first to step forward was Reumwing.

"Ah, well..."

She didn't hesitate. She walked straight to one side of the Ferris wheel — the car Hand was already sitting in.

One couple had just been born.

Chat detonated. Jjangjjangwang wanted nothing more than to sneak a peek at whatever was happening inside that car, but it wasn't over yet.

Hana-chan was still left.

Unlike Reumwing, she took a long time. She stood there turning it over, and then — of all things — she walked right up to Jjangjjangwang, who had been hovering nearby.

"Thank you for today. It was an honor!"

"Ah— ahh... That means..."

Coming over to thank the host could only mean one thing. Chat couldn't hide its disappointment, and neither, privately, could Jjangjjangwang. In his head he knew an unmatched ending might even be better for the content. In his gut, he'd still wanted to see her become a couple.

Then the twist landed anyway.

Finished with her thanks, Hana-chan turned — and walked toward the Ferris wheel.

"Wooooah!!"

A scream tore out of people on instinct. Above all else, it was because her choice was so completely unexpected.

The Ferris wheel car Hana-chan had chosen was...